We are very pleased to be running our annual Soil Logging Workshop presented by Nik Kontos and Warwick Davies (EI Australia) on Wednesday 21st May 2025 in Sydney.
Participants of this soil logging workshop will hone their skills in field-based description and classification of soils in accordance with the Australian Standard AS1726:2017 Geotechnical site investigations. Reference to NZGS 2005 (the equivalent New Zealand standard) may also be made throughout the workshop, for the benefit of those who may have current or future projects in NZ.
The course presenters:
Nik Kontos graduated from RMIT as an Applied Geologist in 1983 and since then has worked mostly in groundwater management and CLM in south-east Asia, the middle-East and Australia. In addition to almost 4 decades in CLM, Nik has worked on state and national groundwater inventory programs, developed town groundwater supply schemes, promoted and instigated driller training in developing countries in appropriate and conventional drilling techniques, and was a NSW Licenced Water Bore Driller himself during the 1990s. Nik developed this course for ACLCA NSW and has presented this training for us annually since 2016.
Warwick Davies graduated as a Civil Engineer at UNSW (1967) and commenced a career in geotechnical engineering with the NSW Department of Railways at their soils laboratory in Sydney. Engineering Geology loomed in the mid 1970’s. The work and knowledge base for a geotechnical engineer with a state-wide area of responsibility and interest demanded wider horizons. Warwick studied for a Master of Applied Science (Engineering Geology) at UNSW, but hands-on soil mechanics and soil technology has not left him. Ground engineering and landslide investigation and remediation remain as his core interests. Warwick has worked professionally with Nik for over 20 years, realising the rewards that are gained from sharing knowledge and experience in other fields of endeavour, principally groundwater and geomorphology.
This workshop is presented with the philosophy that accurate soil description and soil classification form a critical foundation for decision-based CLM. The presenter will use a picture-rich PowerPoint presentation and guide trainees through practical demonstrations of soil texturing technique. While wearing appropriate PPE, participants will be walked through the soil logging process for typical soils sampled from boreholes, test pits and stockpiles, all in the context of site characterisation for contaminated land investigations.
Throughout the workshop participants will practice each step of the soil logging process under the trainer’s guidance, on a number of clean soil samples representing a range of soil types and grain sizes, to hone their skill. Each trainee will be issued with a digital copy of the course notes and a laminated field reference guide as useful and practical tools to help them in their ongoing development.
Previous attendees’ comments about this workshop:
“Very knowledgeable lecturer”
“It was great, the presenter was very engaging”
“Nik was interested, knowledgeable and engaging”.
Registration Fee (includes morning tea) –
Early bird member rate: $190.00pp
Standard member rate: $240.00
Bookings close: Friday 16th May.
Bookings are currently open for members only, if you are not a member of ACLCA NSW but are interested in attending this training, please contact us at nsw@aclca.com.au.
CPD POINTS
CPD points (CEnvP) may be earned by attending this event.
ACLCA NSW events and workshops can contribute to your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) goals. ACLCA NSW urges you to refer to Contaminated Land Specialist schemes such as CPSS CSAM and EIANZ CEnvP, in particular the CEnvP log template, for further information. Certain activities have different limits of points that may be claimed. If you are claiming CPD points from attending ACLCA NSW events, we encourage you to keep a record of your attendance on file as evidence for your CPD recognition.